Esophoria

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Esophoria
Specialty Ophthalmology

Esophoria is an eye condition involving inward deviation of the eye, usually due to extra-ocular muscle imbalance. It is a type of heterophoria.

Contents

Cause

Causes include:

Unlike esotropia, fusion is possible and therefore diplopia is uncommon.

Related Research Articles

Esotropia Form of strabismus

Esotropia is a form of strabismus in which one or both eyes turns inward. The condition can be constantly present, or occur intermittently, and can give the affected individual a "cross-eyed" appearance. It is the opposite of exotropia and usually involves more severe axis deviation than esophoria. Esotropia is sometimes erroneously called "lazy eye", which describes the condition of amblyopia—a reduction in vision of one or both eyes that is not the result of any pathology of the eye and cannot be resolved by the use of corrective lenses. Amblyopia can, however, arise as a result of esotropia occurring in childhood: In order to relieve symptoms of diplopia or double vision, the child's brain will ignore or "suppress" the image from the esotropic eye, which when allowed to continue untreated will lead to the development of amblyopia. Treatment options for esotropia include glasses to correct refractive errors, the use of prisms and/or orthoptic exercises and/or eye muscle surgery. The term is from Greek eso meaning "inward" and trope meaning "a turning".

Strabismus Eyes not aligning when looking at something

Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is focused on an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a large part of childhood, it may result in amblyopia or loss of depth perception. If onset is during adulthood, it is more likely to result in double vision.

Eyelid Thin fold of skin that covers and protects the eye

An eyelid is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid, exposing the cornea to the outside, giving vision. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily. The human eyelid features a row of eyelashes along the eyelid margin, which serve to heighten the protection of the eye from dust and foreign debris, as well as from perspiration. "Palpebral" means relating to the eyelids. Its key function is to regularly spread the tears and other secretions on the eye surface to keep it moist, since the cornea must be continuously moist. They keep the eyes from drying out when asleep. Moreover, the blink reflex protects the eye from foreign bodies.

Accommodation reflex

The accommodation reflex is a reflex action of the eye, in response to focusing on a near object, then looking at a distant object, comprising coordinated changes in vergence, lens shape (accommodation) and pupil size. It is dependent on cranial nerve II, superior centers (interneuron) and cranial nerve III. The change in the shape of the lens is controlled by the ciliary muscles inside the eye. Changes in contraction of the ciliary muscles alter the focal distance of the eye, causing nearer or farther images to come into focus on the retina; this process is known as accommodation. The reflex, controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system, involves three responses: pupil constriction, lens accommodation, and convergence.

Accommodation (eye)

Accommodation is the process by which the vertebrate eye changes optical power to maintain a clear image or focus on an object as its distance varies. In this, distances vary for individuals from the far point—the maximum distance from the eye for which a clear image of an object can be seen, to the near point—the minimum distance for a clear image. Accommodation usually acts like a reflex, including part of the accommodation-vergence reflex, but it can also be consciously controlled. Mammals, birds and reptiles vary their eyes' optical power by changing the form of the elastic lens using the ciliary body. Fish and amphibians vary the power by changing the distance between a rigid lens and the retina with muscles.

Dermatochalasis

Dermatochalasis is a medical condition, defined as an excess of skin in the upper or lower eyelid, also known as "baggy eyes." It may be either an acquired or a congenital condition. It is generally treated with blepharoplasty.

Duane syndrome Rare congenital disease characterized by external gaze palsy

Duane syndrome is a congenital rare type of strabismus most commonly characterized by the inability of the eye to move outward. The syndrome was first described by ophthalmologists Jakob Stilling (1887) and Siegmund Türk (1896), and subsequently named after Alexander Duane, who discussed the disorder in more detail in 1905.

Eye movement

Eye movement includes the voluntary or involuntary movement of the eyes, helping in acquiring, fixating and tracking visual stimuli. A special type of eye movement, rapid eye movement, occurs during REM sleep.

Extraocular muscles

The extraocular muscles are the six muscles that control movement of the eye and one muscle that controls eyelid elevation. The actions of the six muscles responsible for eye movement depend on the position of the eye at the time of muscle contraction.

Abducens nucleus

The abducens nucleus is the originating nucleus from which the abducens nerve (VI) emerges—a cranial nerve nucleus. This nucleus is located beneath the fourth ventricle in the caudal portion of the pons, medial to the sulcus limitans.

Blepharoplasty

Blepharoplasty is the plastic surgery operation for correcting defects, deformities, and disfigurations of the eyelids; and for aesthetically modifying the eye region of the face. With the excision and the removal, or the repositioning of excess tissues, such as skin and adipocyte fat, and the reinforcement of the corresponding muscle and tendon tissues, the blepharoplasty procedure resolves functional and cosmetic problems of the periorbita, which is the area from the eyebrow to the upper portion of the cheek. The procedure is more common among women, who accounted for approximately 85% of blepharoplasty procedures in 2014 in the US and 88% of such procedures in the UK.

Hyperaldosteronism Hormonal disorder

Hyperaldosteronism is a medical condition wherein too much aldosterone is produced by the adrenal glands, which can lead to lowered levels of potassium in the blood (hypokalemia) and increased hydrogen ion excretion (alkalosis).

Vergence

A vergence is the simultaneous movement of both eyes in opposite directions to obtain or maintain single binocular vision.

Ptosis (eyelid)

Ptosis, also known as blepharoptosis, is a drooping or falling of the upper eyelid. The drooping may be worse after being awake longer when the individual's muscles are tired. This condition is sometimes called "lazy eye", but that term normally refers to the condition amblyopia. If severe enough and left untreated, the drooping eyelid can cause other conditions, such as amblyopia or astigmatism. This is why it is especially important for this disorder to be treated in children at a young age, before it can interfere with vision development.

Exophoria is a form of heterophoria in which there is a tendency of the eyes to deviate outward. During examination, when the eyes are dissociated, the visual axes will appear to diverge away from one another.

Accommodative insufficiency (AI) involves the inability of the eye to focus properly on an object. Accommodation is the adjustment of the curvature of the lens to focus on objects near and far.

Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO), is a type of eye disorder characterized by slowly progressive inability to move the eyes and eyebrows. It is often the only feature of mitochondrial disease, in which case the term CPEO may be given as the diagnosis. In other people suffering from mitochondrial disease, CPEO occurs as part of a syndrome involving more than one part of the body, such as Kearns–Sayre syndrome. Occasionally CPEO may be caused by conditions other than mitochondrial diseases.

Botulinum toxin therapy of strabismus is a medical technique used sometimes in the management of strabismus, in which botulinum toxin is injected into selected extraocular muscles in order to reduce the misalignment of the eyes. The injection of the toxin to treat strabismus, reported upon in 1981, is considered to be the first ever use of botulinum toxin for therapeutic purposes. Today, the injection of botulinum toxin into the muscles that surround the eyes is one of the available options in the management of strabismus. Other options for strabismus management are vision therapy and occlusion therapy, corrective glasses and prism glasses, and strabismus surgery.

Accommodative excess

In ophthalmology, accommodative excess occurs when an individual uses more than normal accommodation for performing certain near work. Accommodative excess has traditionally been defined as accommodation that is persistently higher than expected for the patient's age. Modern definitions simply regard it as an inability to relax accommodation readily. Excessive accommodation is seen in association with excessive convergence also.

Roots of the ciliary ganglion

The ciliary ganglion is a parasympathetic ganglion located just behind the eye in the posterior orbit. Three types of axons enter the ciliary ganglion but only the preganglionic parasympathetic axons synapse there. The entering axons are arranged into three roots of the ciliary ganglion, which join enter the posterior surface of the ganglion.

References

  1. Eckstein, AK; Fischer, M; Esser, J (1998). "Normal accommodative convergence excess--long-term follow-up of conservative therapy with bifocal eyeglasses". Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde . 212 (4): 218–225. doi:10.1055/s-2008-1034868. PMID   9644668.
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